World Folktales
Single Session or Weekly Program
Judy tells tales from every corner of the world, each of which paints
a metaphorical picture of the human condition, the problems we face
and the journeys we make to solve these problems and bring ourselves
to our own "happily ever after".

Stories can address
specific development issues occurring in the life of the listeners.
These include:

The development
of character traits such as compassion, kindness, trust and many
more.

Age-determined
developmental issues such as handling the natural distancing from
parents that comes with growing up or learning to understand the
consequences of behavior and make ethical choices.

Seasonal
issues such as handling the feelings of loss that come in autumn
with the falling leaves, building courage for and learning to
appreciate the quiet solitude of winter or learning to use the
explosive, jittery energy of spring to move towards great accomplishments.

Stories last from 10
to 45 minutes. For the weekly program, tales will be chosen to guide
listeners through an in-depth experience relating to a specific
development issue.

Raising
the Bar: From Animalistic to Heroic ChoicesSingle Session or Weekly ProgramThis program is modeled after Waldorf education's Grade 2 literature
and humanities curriculum and is best as an ongoing program for
children approximately ages 7 to 9. Animal fables explore the consequences
of such unsightly, but very real, human behaviors stemming from
unmanaged greed, jealousy, arrogance, etc. The fables, then, are
implicitly compared with stories of human individuals acting with
compassion, courage, wisdom and kindness to achieve the ultimate
of human endeavors - the creation of a just and goodly world. The
pairing of these two types of tales tells listeners that, while
our base instincts are very real, they are not the path to our highest
of human achievements. Buddhist Jataka tales can also be added to
show the wholeness of the choices and teach compassion towards our
animalistic instincts.

Jewish
Holiday Stories
Judy retells the Jewish holiday stories with a focus on the universal
goodness of humanity.

Buddhist StoriesSingle Session or Weekly Program
Seeped in lessons of compassion, kindness, mindfulness and non-violence,
Buddhist tales are important tools in the development of a strong
ethical backbone. While Judy is not a practicing Buddhist, her respect
for and knowledge of the underlying culture of Buddhism means that
she tells the tales with the reverence they are due. Although ancient,
these tales live again in Judy's performances and speak their timeless
message to today's listeners.